


Tell Me Sweet Little Lies

by Lady_Lombax



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Chat Noir is Ladybug's Impulse Control, Gen, Marinette keeps her temper, Volpina Fix-it, and learns from her mistakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 19:35:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6920266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Lombax/pseuds/Lady_Lombax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A <em> Volpina</em> Fix It fic where Marinette keeps her head. After all, a good superhero always listens to her head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tell Me Sweet Little Lies

**Author's Note:**

> I am not usually one to involve myself in Fandom disputes. However, I was a bit disappointed in how they brought about the character ’Lila’ in the latest episode. The stereotypical Lying New Girl for popularity and takes a liking to the protagonist’s love interest. I was also a bit upset (like a vast amount of people were) with how Marinette handled the situation.
> 
> So I had a thought that relates to this [little post](http://my-insanity-is-an-artform.tumblr.com/post/138483838785/chat-noir-as-ladybugs-impulse-control) I had way back when Antibug came out. We can all agree that Marinette acted pretty impulsively, so what if Marinette had kept her head? What if all the little lessons she learnt over the course of Season One sunk in?
> 
> Well, this was the result.

“I don’t want to be mean but Ladybug is _far_ from being the best.”  
  


The lies that spilt from Lila’s lips sent bolts of white-hot anger pulsing through Marinette’s body. Blood pounded in her ears, drowning out the rest of the conversation between Adrien and the conniving liar.

  
With Tikki’s important book clasped viciously in both hands, Marinette spun on her heel and fled from the park, the Kwami zooming after her.

_  
‘How **dare** that snobbish, lying, manipulative cockroach use me to get Adrien’s attention then just  **dismiss** everything I’ve done. I’ve saved Paris and hundreds of people! I should teach her a lesson.  **Ladybug** should teach her a lesson. I hate liars! I…’_

  
Marinette ducked into a side street. A black blur shot across the opening and caught under her foot causing her to trip and fall onto the concrete ground. The book skidded a few feet and halted. The shooting pain in her palms and knees cleared Marinette’s head but it was not enough to eradicate the anger that still gripped her heart.

  
“Marinette! Are you alright?” Tikki flittered worriedly by Marinette’s side and pressed a tiny paw to her miraculous wielder’s cheek.

  
The teen pushed herself up onto her knees, pulling the book towards her and shoving it into her backpack. “Yeah, Tikki. I’m fine. We have your book but I am not going to allow that girl to continue with her lies! Tikki, Transform me!”

  
Marinette disappeared in a flash of light and Ladybug stood in her place, anger and a desire for humiliation thrumming through her body.

_  
'What did I even trip over? Oh, what does it matter?’_

  
A flicker of black stopped the heroine before she could leave. Standing on a blocked up windowsill with the most judgemental look on its face was a young black cat with bright eyes. It seemed to stare beyond her mask and it made her feel as if she had seen that look before.

_  
'It kinda looks like Chat did when… when I didn’t listen to Chloé. He was so disappointed in me for losing my head and acting recklessly.’_  Ladybug stared back at the cat, thoughts running rampant through her head. Even Tikki’s words from earlier in the day came back.

_**  
'Aren’t you a bit jealous, Marinette?’** _

_  
'Didn’t I once tell Tikki that a great superhero always listens to her head?! And every time I get jealous or don’t think, I just make things worse. Didn’t I learn from poor Max and from Ivan being The Bubbler’s victim?! But I can’t just let Lila get away with this!’_

  
Ladybug pulled at her pigtails. The echo of Chat words from when she had refused to listen to Chloé flittered through her mind.

**_  
'Don’t you think you were a bit harsh?’_ **

  
Ladybug groaned and buried her head in her hands.

_  
'I can’t humiliate her or be too harsh with her. It would make her a prime candidate for Hawkmoth! And it would make me like Chloé!…And I guess I don’t want to disappoint Chat. I really don’t want to make myself look terrible in front of Adrien either.’_

  
Her shoulders slumped before she drew herself up tall. Chat had always been the one to back her up. It was time that she acted like the hero he obviously always thought she was.

_  
'Even in the very beginning, he knew I had what it took. I am **Ladybug**. I should act like it.’_

  
Ladybug looked back at the black cat who had lost interest in the superhero. She needed to keep her head on straight. She needed to be responsible. She needed something to ensure it. A physical presence since Chat couldn’t be. Something that wasn’t Adrien.

_  
'Weren’t there some kids playing football in the park?’_

  
She had a plan.

* * *

  
“You mean… it’s a miraculous?!” Adrien’s voice was disbelieving and awed as he stared down at the foxtail necklace in the girl’s hand.

  
Before anything more could be said, a joyous shout echoed across the park.

  
“LADYBUG!” Several young children abandoned their football game and ran towards Ladybug who greeted them gently with a strained smile and was walking with a clear destination in every step.

  
The hero listened to the children as they rattled off question after question and circled her curiously. She did not break her stride as she marched directly towards the duo. Stopping before the two teens, Ladybug crossed her arms and turned her head to the small gathering of children around her.

  
“Mind giving me a moment guys? I just need to have a quick … _talk_ with someone. I’ll be back to answer all of your questions as soon as I’m done. Go have fun with your game.” Ladybug shooed the smiling children away and turned to Adrien with a tense look. “I’m sorry Adrien but I need to have a chat with the girl next to you in private. Do you mind?”

  
Adrien glanced between the two girls, one masked and grim-faced, the other pale and shocked. “Sure. I don’t mind. I’ll just be over there.” Adrien gathered his bag and moved away from the girls, standing by a tree that was out of normal hearing range. (Of course, neither girl knew that his hearing had improved since becoming Chat Noir so he could still hear both of them if he tried.)

  
Lila stared up at Ladybug who had crossed her arms and was gripping at her biceps. The usual confident look that adorned the masked hero was gone, replaced by a hard stare. Ladybug leaned forward.

  
“So, I regularly check _The Ladyblog_ for information. Imagine my surprise when I suddenly discovered that I had a new BFF this morning. Especially since it’s a girl I have never met before. What was it? We are so close, _we are practically inseparable!_ ” The last few words were hissed out and Ladybug drew herself back to continue ranting at Lila’s slightly recoiled form when the echo of children’s laughter interrupted them. Ladybug closed her eyes and pressed a hand over them, taking a deep breath in a desperate attempt to keep it together.

_  
'Adrien is standing a few feet away. There are children who look up to you, playing and watching your every move. Chat deserves a partner who uses her head. Be someone you would like. Be the hero the kids think you are. Be the partner Chat deserves.’_

  
Ladybug pulled her hand away from her face and levelled Lila with a harsh stare, barely keeping the anger from her voice. “I _despise_ liars. I especially hate liars who use me as a way to get popular. I don’t tolerate it from the mayor’s daughter and I will not tolerate it from you. I know that you lied about knowing me. I know that you lied to get Adrien to come to the park with you.” Lila moved to speak but Ladybug narrowed her eyes at the girl, freezing her in her seat. “I have my sources. I don’t know how much of those rumours I’ve heard being said around _Collège Françoise Dupont_ are true but something tells me that you don’t know every director in Hollywood nor has Jagged Stone ever written a song about you. Lying like that will get you nowhere and it will only backfire on you majorly when the truth comes out unless you clean up your act.”

  
Ladybug sighed raggedly and turned her head to watch the game of football. “Under the mask, I’m human and I’ll admit that I wanted to _humiliate_ you the moment I saw that video. The moment I heard you flipping your tone and talking badly about me, how I’m _inferior_ to the so-called heroine ’ _Volpina’_ because you wanted to impress a boy, I wanted to make you pay for it. That is how _unbelievably furious_ I am with you right now. And finally, not only did you blatantly lie but you have also placed yourself in danger by announcing that you are close friends with me. Hawkmoth may target anyone but he will do _anything_ to get what he wants. I don’t have _time_ to ensure your safety because you decided it would be cool to lie about our relationship. So _you_ need to be the one to fix it _before_ it becomes an issue.” The blue eyes of the masked heroine turned back to the wide green ones of Lila. “It’s only the thought that a lot of people look up to me and I _refuse_ to let them down that I am _barely_ keeping my temper with you. I believe you owe an apology to a lot of people for lying to them.” Ladybug nodded towards Adrien who began to walk back towards the two. “Starting with him. Adrien gets a lot of attention due to his celebrity status and his good looks and I know he hates it. He deserves far better than that.”

  
Lila bowed her head and clenched her fists in her lap.

  
“Just remember. I hate _liars_ and nobody else likes them either.” Ladybug spun on her heel and stalked off, sweeping past Adrien who had an unidentifiable look on his face. It took everything she had not to turn back around and yank Adrien away from the new transfer girl. Every step felt like a condemnation and her heart was screaming at her to turn back around and _annihilate the threat towards Adrien. To destroy any thought that liar had about Adrien._

  
It was only the memory of Chat’s disappointed stare and the consistent chant of ’ _Be the partner Chat deserves. Be the partner Chat deserves_.’ rolling through her head since she had stepped into the park dressed in spots that forced her to keep putting one foot in front of the other. A haze was beginning to descend around her mind though and Ladybug knew she had to get to the rooftops and _run_ before she did something she would later regret.

  
However, luck was on Ladybug’s side and fate had other plans for the Lady in spots. The red haze in her head was interrupted by a small dark skinned boy of only eight years as he shyly held up the worn out form of a well-loved football in front of him.

  
“Me and the rest of my friends … we were wondering if you would like to play with us? I mean, it’s cool if you don’t. I mean, _you’re Ladybug_ and you probably should be fighting fires or saving cats in trees or catching bad guys or running over rooftops or…”

  
“…Or cheering up by having a game with some great fans after a bad day?” Ladybug felt the stress and anger about Lila melt away in the face of a small eager young boy who had babbled his way through speaking to his hero. Who was now whooping happily and bouncing in place. The warm bubbly feeling that she got from making a child’s day simply by waving or saying hello burst inside her chest, clearing away any remainder of the anger and causing a bright laugh to burst out of her lips. Ladybug scooped up the ball the kid had dropped in his joy and jogged towards the group of kids, all of whom were beaming excitedly. “I heard there was an invitation for a superhero? I gotta warn you, though. I’m very competitive but I haven’t played football in ages!”

  
“Got room for one more?”

  
Ladybug spun around only to be met with the awkward stance of Adrien who was rubbing the back of his head.

  
Ladybug glanced over his shoulder, only seeing an empty bench. “Where’s…?”

  
“I didn’t really want to hang out with someone who lied to me. It happens more than I’d like.”

  
Ladybug felt her eyes soften at the confession and looked over her shoulder. “Mind if he joins in too?”

  
The resounding cheer from the group of kids put a wide smile on both teenagers’ faces.

 

* * *

The cheerful game between a rambunctious group of children, a famous model and a superheroine was filled with laughter, cheers and Ladybug falling flat on her face more than once. The first time it happened, a few children had worried about it but once she explained that even heroes could be clumsy and that normal Ladybug had the miraculous ability to trip over thin air, the game continued on.

  
Adrien looked to be having the time of his life. He’d ditched his grey bag and white over shirt by the fountain with the other belongings of the children. A bright smile had been on his face since he had sheepishly admitted he had never played before and caused one little-pigtailed girl to be utterly scandalised. (She had proceeded to explain the basic rules to Adrien in a loud, excited voice and they had to stop her from going into details so they could begin the game.)

  
It hit Ladybug when she was admiring Adrien’s smile as he and his teammates cheer from scoring a goal that this was probably the first time in a long time (if ever) that Adrien had done something like this, to act like a child and have fun. It was good to see him relax.

  
Of course, it was just her luck that that’s when the comet appeared.

* * *

  
After the whole incident with Volpina was said and done and Lila had stormed off after an explosive “ _It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t interfered, none of this would have happened!_ ”, Ladybug stood next to her partner on top of the Eiffel Tower.

  
“It’s not true you know. The fact that you called her out on her lies was the right thing to do. She shouldn’t have lied in the first place.” Chat pressed a hand onto Ladybug’s shoulder and she leaned into the warmth.

  
“I know. She said that she knew me and used that to her advantage, that she used it against people. I just couldn’t let her continue. God, it made me _so mad_! … Which reminds me.” Ladybug turned her head to look into Chat’s green eyes. Bringing her other hand up, she squeezed the hand that was resting on her shoulder. “ _Thank you_.”

  
Chat’s mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. “W…What for?” His tail curled up behind him.

  
“Making me a better person. If it hadn’t been for you calling _me_ out when I get out of line, I probably would have been a lot harsher with her than necessary. I would have been anyway if I hadn’t spotted a black cat that reminded me of you. I realised that I don’t want to disappoint you.”

  
Chat spun Ladybug to face him fully and placed both hands on her shoulders, squeezing them desperately. “My Lady, you could never…”

  
Ladybug shook her head. “Maybe, but you wouldn’t have approved of the way I would have screamed at her and humiliated her. You’re my partner and I want to be the best partner I can be for you. You are one of my best friends and it’s the least you deserve for putting up with my stubbornness and calling me out when I’m wrong. So thanks.” Ladybug smiled gently.

  
Chat rubbed the back of his head, grinning and blushing madly. “No problem, Bugaboo.” His tail wrapped itself around his legs causing him to stumble for a second as he tried to shift his weight.

  
Ladybug burst out in pearls of giggles before halting with a gasp, her eyes wide and hands hovering in front of her worriedly. “But what happened to Adrien?”

* * *

  
The next few days passed quietly in Ladybug’s world but for Marinette, it seemed as if the rumour mill at school had exploded.

  
Just as Ladybug had predicted, the truth had come out and things had majorly backfired on Lila. The school had been stunned to discover that Lila had been lying about a multitude of things most notably about her friendship with Ladybug and  knowing Prince Ali, many Hollywood directors and Jagged Stone. It seemed the only thing she hadn’t lied about was her parents’ occupations as Italian Diplomats. In under two days, Lila had turned from the girl everyone wanted to be friends with to the girl nobody wanted to even acknowledge.

  
Most of Marinette’s class didn’t involve Lila as much as they could have with their activities, key people obviously hurt and their friends sticking by them. Adrien had actively avoided eye contact and had awkwardly excused himself when the girl had tried to speak with him. Alya was adamant in not acknowledging Lila, stating Lila had made a fool of her and _The Ladyblog_. Ivan had even moved back to sit next to Nathanael which left Lila seated alone behind Marinette and Alya.

  
Chloé, however, had taken great delight in shutting Lila down every time she opened her mouth and, while Lila admirably held her own for a few arguments, it was visibly wearing down on the new girl.

  
It was during one such altercation that Marinette decided that enough was enough. Marinette hated liars but she could understand the possible reasons behind Lila’s lies, even if she did use them to get closer to Adrien. She also disliked Chloé more.

  
“Chloé, that is _enough!_ ” Marinette slammed her fist onto the desk and stood up, placing herself between Lila and Chloé. “We get it. She lied. I may not be Lila’s biggest fan but you are way over the line with this! At least, all she’s done is told, in the long term, harmless lies whereas you are the reason behind at least half of the class becoming possessed by Hawkmoth! So _back off Chloé_!” The words were a bit harsher than Marinette intended them to be but when Chloé merely snarled and stalked back to her own seat, Marinette decided to take it as a win. As she slumped back into her own seat, Alya kinked a questioning eyebrow at the designer next to her. Marinette could only shake her head. She was really getting tired of everything and she could feel the green eyes of the transfer bore into the back of her head.

  
The rest of the class passed without incident though the feeling of being stared at failed to dissipate. Most of the students made a bid for freedom, shooting out of their seats as soon as the bell went. Marinette only packed her things away slowly and waved off Alya from where she hovered by the door, obviously wanting to leave but unwilling to go without her friend. The wooden door swung shut with a quiet thump. Only Marinette was left with Lila still sitting behind her.

  
Marinette fiddled with her backpack as she stood next to her desk. She wanted to talk to Lila but figuring out a way to broach the topic was eluding her. Maybe…

  
“Why?”

  
“Huh?” Marinette turned her head and met olive green eyes.

  
“Why did you defend me? You said it yourself that you don’t like me so why did you defend me?” Lila’s fists were clenched and her green eyes were narrowed. It was like she was trying to decipher Marinette’s aim, her reason for calling Chloé out.

  
Marinette shrugged. “I don’t like bullies. I don’t like liars either but you’re new. I don’t know you. All I know is that you told a lot of people a lot of lies for some reason I won’t pretend to know. At least, it came out now and not later when it could have done some real damage. Lying gets you nowhere.”

  
Lila looked stunned for a moment then whipped her head away. “That’s what Ladybug said.” The words were mumbled and barely audible but Marinette heard them. She hummed questioningly and Lila looked back at the class President. “Ladybug said something similar. How this would all blow up in my face. She also said I should apologise. I don’t like her but I guess … she kinda had a point.”

  
Marinette beamed, her whole countenance lighting up. “It won’t be easy but I’m sure you’ll fit right in sooner rather than later.” Marinette stuck out her hand. “I never really introduced myself properly either. Marinette.”

  
Lila glanced down at the hand and took it cautiously before breaking out in the most sincere smile Marinette had seen on her face. “Lila.”


End file.
